1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electrical equipment and, more particularly, is concerned with an electrical receptacle assembly employing a housing held together by a front mounting bridge.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, electrical receptacles manufactured and marketed by Hubbell Incorporated of Orange, Conn., the assignee of the subject application, have employed a generally rectangular housing assembly. The housing assembly includes a housing formed by separate matable front and back covers and a generally U-shaped "wrap-around" mounting bridge. The bridge has a base portion positioned adjacent the rear side of the housing and a pair of opposite upper and lower leg portions extending vertically therealong and forwardly therefrom along top and bottom ends of the housing.
Traditionally, the mounting bridge at the back cover of the housing has been attached to the rear side of the housing. The mounting bridge is also provided with upper and lower mounting tabs attached to and extending respectively upwardly and downwardly from front ends of opposite upper and lower leg portions of the mounting bridge. The upper and lower mounting tabs have eyelets defined therethrough for fastening the bridge to a receptacle or outlet box, which is attached to a building wall, by the use of screws inserted through the upper and lower eyelets and threaded into the box.
More recently, as disclosed in the cross-reference application, the upper and lower leg portions of the mounting bridge and the top and bottom ends of the front and back covers of the housing have incorporated elements for securing the mated front and back covers together. The securement elements take the form of wedge shaped ramps on the front and back covers and openings in the upper and lower leg portions of the mounting bridge. These securement elements enable the mounting bridge to be applied to the housing to hold the front and rear covers of the housing together in a mated relationship without the use of tools. This represented a significant innovation among various techniques for assembling the parts of electrical receptacle housings together. The inventors herein have perceived a need to provide even further innovation with respect to the assembling of the parts of electrical receptacle housings together.